The distinguished MIT professor, renowned linguist, and political activist has donated 260 boxes of his notes, drafts, correspondence, and other rare and unpublished materials to the MIT Libraries’ Institute Archives and Special Collections. In these boxes you can read the notes he prepared for lectures, go to the front lines of political protests he attended, read his personal correspondence with other great thinkers, and learn how his views shaped the political discourse.

unBox the Chomsky Archive is a project that will make Chomsky’s personal papers accessible to the world. With your help, we can expedite the process of sharing Chomsky’s remarkable collection of notes, drafts, photographs, and other unpublished materials.

About the Project

The MIT Libraries’ Institute Archives and Special Collections became the stewards of Noam Chomsky’s personal papers in 2012. The papers document Chomsky’s life and work and provide unique insight into his thinking, writing, and influence over the last sixty years.

The process of transferring Chomsky’s materials to the MIT Libraries has begun. A project archivist, project archivist assistant, and project curator have packed, transferred, and re-housed over 263 cubic feet of material (side-by-side the boxes would stretch the length of a football field) and the collection is still growing.

A project of this size goes beyond what the Libraries’ budget can support. Additional funding from our friends and supporters is needed to process the collection, incorporate the born digital materials, and digitize the hundreds of thousands of pieces within the collection to make it accessible to the public.

Support unBoxing the Chomsky Archive!

Chomsky’s ideals and insights are as timely today as they were in the 1960s. Access to his perspectives on numerous topics make the case to unBox the Chomsky Archive! His collection will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, and those wishing to preserve Chomsky’s remarkable legacy. Give now »

With your help, we will:

Process the collection, ensuring that any restrictions, fragile materials, photographs, and digital materials are handled with care, and that materials are described accurately for researchers and future digitization purposes.

Digitize the collection so that researchers from all over the world can have access to the materials without physically visiting MIT.